Prime minister and council of ministers

Office of Prime Minister

In the Parliamentary system of Government, the Prime minister is the real executive (de facto executive) and head of the government. Since 1947, India has had 14 Prime ministers.

Appointment: The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure on the appointment procedure of the Prime minister. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party or alliance that has a majority in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament. The Prime minister is sworn in by the President of India. The President administers the Oath of Office and Oath of Secrecy to the Prime Minister.

Article 74: There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice.

The President has discretionary powers when no party commands a majority in the lower house or when a Prime minister in office dies suddenly and there is no obvious successor.
The President may appoint a person as the Prime Minister and then ask him to prove his majority in the Lower House (Lok Sabha) within a reasonable period. Also, a person who is not a member of both houses may be appointed as the Prime minister for six months, within which he should become a member of either house of Parliament.
Note: Minimum age for becoming a prime minister is 25 years.
There is no restriction on the Prime minister to be only from the lower house like in the United Kingdom’s Parliamentary system. Prime minister can also be the member of Rajya Sabha.
The Prime Minister holds office on the Pleasure of the President. He must resign if he loses the majority in the lower house. This means that the term of the Prime minister is not fixed. Also, his salary and allowances are determined by the Parliament.
Power and Functions

He is the head of Union Council of Ministers. The resignation or death of an incumbent Prime Minister automatically dissolves the Council of Ministers.
He is the principal channel of communication between the President and the Council of Ministers
The Prime Minister automatically becomes the leader of the House to which he belongs
He is the Chairman of NITI Aayog, Inter-state Council, Cabinet committees etc
Role Descriptions

Primus inter pares – first among the equals
Inter stellas luna minores – a moon among lesser stars
Council of Ministers

Article 74: There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. The advice is binding on the President. Though the President may recommend reconsidering such advice tendered, the reconsidered advice is binding on the President. This provision was added by the 42nd and 44th Amendment Acts.

Article 75: The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Principle of Collective Responsibility: The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. When a no-confidence motion was passed in the Lok Sabha, the Council of Minister resigns in totality irrespective of their membership to Rajya Sabha. They work as a team and swim or sink together. The Cabinet decision is binding on all Cabinet ministers even if they differed in the Cabinet meeting.
Principle of Individual Responsibility: this means that the Council of Ministers can hold office during the pleasure of the President. The President can dismiss them on the advice of the Prime Minister. The individual responsibility is essential to ensure the rule of Collective responsibility.
Legal responsibility: There is no system of legal responsibility in India unlike in the United Kingdom. It is not required that an order of the President for a public act should be countersigned by a minister.
The Oath of Office and Secrecy are administered to the Ministers by the President. Their sal